Spring,
2006
New
LOHP Training Program Helps Restaurants Protect Workers
Generally viewed as part of the benign “service” sector,
restaurant kitchens, no matter how well run, are actually dangerous
places to work. They may be filled with hazards such as slippery
floors, sharp knives, hot stoves, and toxic cleaning products. Add the fact that many
restaurant employees are young and inexperienced, or are immigrants
with limited English skills, and you have a particularly vulnerable
situation.
Injury prevention
is complicated by the fact that many restaurants are small
businesses, without the expertise or resources to identify
solutions to safety problems or to train workers to do their
jobs safely.
To address
this serious problem, LOHP has been working in cooperation
with small California restaurant owners to develop a safety
training program for restaurant managers and supervisors. The
packet of materials we created includes the Restaurant Safety
Training Guide as well as factsheets, "tipsheets," and
other resources.
The California
Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation
has supplied funding for the program through the Worker Occupational
Safety and Health Training & Education Program (WOSHTEP).
The restaurant training materials are available to read or
download in English and Spanish at the Commission's
website. The Commission expects that the restaurant program
will serve as a model for safety training outreach efforts
to other types of small business.
LOHP and
its sister program at UCLA, the Labor Occupational Safety and
Health Program (LOSH), are partnering with the California Restaurant
Association and State Compensation Insurance Fund to provide
free training to restaurants throughout the state.
The project
aims to encourage owners, managers, and supervisors to improve
safety in their restaurants and to use ideas and materials
from our packet to train their own workers.
To find out
about upcoming workshops, contact Diane Bush, dbush@berkeley.edu,
or phone (510) 643-2424.
